Display stand



,'Sept. 6, 1938. c. A. FoLLETT DISPLAY STAND Filed JulyvlO, 193

v"wam-0R Char/e5 A. Fol/eff Patented Sept. 6, 179.38 Z9 l STATES PATENToFFicF.

Beech-Nutl Packing C'ompany, Canajoharie,

N. Y., a rcorporation of New York Application July 10, 1936,A Serial No. 89,962 3 Claims. (CL B11-49) The present invention relates to display stands to embrace the rail and the lower reaches of and comprises a device of thisV type which is of each turn of the spring I6 passing beneath the simple and strong construction, of pleasing aprail. j y pearance, and coni/'ement in use. The improved Positioned in each compartment in advance of l* stand is' particularly adapted for displaying the follower I4 are the boxes 22 to be displayed. '5 small rectangularboxesof the type commonly The boxes are arranged in upright position one used for candy coated chewing gum, cough behind the other; thev follower engaging theilat drops :and thelike and is so constructed as to Surface of the last box and urging the stack fordisplay' such packages prominently and attrac- Wardly. The forward end of each rail 2i) slants 1U tively' and ,in lsuoli position Aas to be readily acabruptly upward to cause the most forward artiv` lil cessible for' removal by a customer. cle in each compartment to extend above the suc- Tlievarious features of novelty, and the ad- Ceeding articles making-it easier to grasp for' varitages adherent thereto will be apparent from removal. When a package is removed at the the following description and from the drawing front of thek compartment, the plate I4 urged forto which reference may now be had. wardl'y by the spring I6 advances the entire stack 1 Figure l1 is a front view of adisplay stand illusof articles along the rail 20; the frontartclebeing trating the lpreferred embodiment of the invenmoved upwardly by the rail and forwardly by the tion, follower into position of ready accessibility.

iFig. 2 is a vertical sectional view along the Each partition I2 carries at its'forward end a line 2--2 of Fig. 1; relatively narrow plate 24 which extendsover 20 Fig. 3'is a' horizontal sectional view along the the edges of the forward box 22 sufficiently to line 3-3 of Fig. 1; f engage the front wall thereof without concealing Fig. lv is an enlarged vertical sectional view the box from view. The small flanges II on the along the line 4--4 of Fig.'3; and sides of the drawer serve, together with the plates 225 Fig. 5 is: an enlarged sectional view of the 24, as forward stops for the boxes in each com- 25 lowerportio-n of the stand. partment whereby the boxes maintain their' ver In the embodiment of the invention illustrated tical stacked position when the drawer is removed in the drawing, the new display stand comprises for restacking`. When thejdrawer is in its nora 'casing having a bottom wall 2, a drawer 4 movmal position, the foremost boxes in the compartable upon the base 2,V side walls 6 secured to the ments are visible through the opening in the 30 baseandy forwardly inclined shelves 8 positioned front` of the casing and appearjattractively abovetlie drawer 4 and carried by the side walls framed by the plates 24, and by a metal strip 23 6. 'I'he drawer 4 may be conveniently formed extending across the lower front of the casing from a single rectangular sheet of metal the and secured to the base 2.

edges of which are turned upwardly to form side Integral with the bottom wall 2 are vertical 35 walls 5, a relatively higher rear wall 'I and a wall sections 25 (Fig. 4) which extend along the shallow lip or flange 9 at the front. The side side walls 6 for a distance corresponding to the walls 5 are turned inwardly at their forward end height of the sides 5 of the drawer. The upper as indicated at II (Fig. 3). A ring or handle edge of each section 25 is turned over to form a 40 I3 is secured to the rear wall I of the drawer. guide channel for the side wall of the drawer. 40 The drawer is divided into three compartments Suitable buttons 26 of rubber or the like riveted I0 by means of double walled metal partitions I2 to the base 2 serve as feet for the display stand. riveted to the base of the drawer. .Within each The bottom and side Walls are riveted together compartment I0 is a follower comprising an upand are also held in fixed relation by a rod 28 right plate member I4 having a vertical wall porwhich extends horizontally through a bead 29 45 tion and a rearwardly and upwardly extending formed in the rear edge of the bottom wall and portion I5, and a coiled compression spring I6; vertically through a similar bead provided along the vertical portion of the plate and the forward the rear edge of each side plate. turn of the spring being held together by tongues The inclined shelves 8, which are provided for I1 pressed from the metal of the plate. The the display of additional articles, are so posi- 50 rear turn of the spring is secured to the rear wall tioned that articles may be easily removed from 1 of the drawer. A rail or `article supporting the front of the drawer 4 without interference runway 20 is provided in each compartment I l) with the lower of the shelves and articles from as a guide for the spring I6 and plate I4, each the lower shelf may be removed without interferplate member being out away at its lower center ence with the upper shelf. Articles, such as 55 packages 32 of chewing gum, which are delivered to the lower shelf 8 from the rear, feed forward by gravity until they abut against a ange 33 at the forward edge of the shelf. Preferably the width of the shelves 8 is about equal to twice the length of a package of chewing gum of standard size and the width of each compartment l is such that a standard size package of candy coated gum may be stood on end therein.

In stocking or replenishing the stand, the drawer 4 is pulled out at the back by the ring I3, the portions l of the follower I4 grasped and the follower moved back to compress the spring I6. The articles are then inserted into the compartment in advance of the follower. As few or as many articles may be used as desired, as the appearance of the stand from the front', so long as a single article remains in each compartment, will be substantially the same irrespective of the number of articles in each compartment. Due to the manner in which the followers I4 are lmounted for movement along the guides 20, the springs I6, when the followers are moved rearwardly, will not buckle but will compress uniformly and, upon release of the followers will expand and urge the followers forward into rm contact with the stack of boxes.

As the foremost article is removed, the next succeeding article in the compartment is moved forwardly and projected upwardly into position to be displayed to the best advantage'and to enable it to be easily removed.

The substantially open front of the casing and drawer together with the means therein to engage the front edges of the boxes permits of the display of a relatively large area of the front boxes, adding to the attractive appearance of the stand and to the utility of the device for display purposes. The rearwardly removable drawer with its self-contained means for holding and feeding forward the packages therein adds to the utility of the -device in providing access from the rear for restocking without disarrangement of the display. The stand may be cheaply made of sheet metal, is of simple and strong construction, and the manner in which the articles are advanced into an easily accessible position adds materially to the attractiveness of the display as well as the convenience of the device.

The following is claimed:

l. A display stand of the class described comprising a casing having an opening in the front thereof, a support within the casing upon which a plurality of articles arranged in stacked relation one behind the other are adapted to slide toward said opening, the forward end of said support being inclined upwardly and forwardly so as to cause the upper end of the foremost article to project a distance above the others, an abutment for the foremost article adjacent the forward end of said support adapted to be engaged by the front side of the foremost article, and spring-actuated means for yieldingly engaging the rearmost article for pressing the stack of articles against said abutment whereby the foremost article is prominently displayed and may be conveniently removed through said opening in the casing and upon removal the remaining articles in the stack are advanced and the next succeeding article is projected upwardly to take the place of the article removed.

2. In a display stand for articles of the class described, the combination comprising a casing having an opening in the front thereof, a drawer mounted to slide in said casing toward and from said opening and removable from the rear of the casing, partitions in said drawer dividing the same from front to back into a plurality of compartments, a runway in each compartment of said drawer, and feeding means in each drawer for urging articles forwardly on said runway, said runway being inclined upwardly at its forward extremity whereby, when an article is removed from the forward end of said drawer through the opening in the front of the casing, said feeding means urges another article both forwardly and upwardly into accessible position.

3. rIn a display stand for articles of the class described, a casing having an opening in the front thereof, a drawer mounted to slide in the casing toward and from said opening having a compartment therein extending longitudinally thereof, a runway in said compartment extending longitudinally thereof for supporting articles one behind the other in stacked relation, a follower mounted to slide in the compartment and engaging the rearmost article, and a coiled spring interposed between the follower and the rear end of the compartment for pressing the follower forwardly, said spring having its forward end secured to the follower with the lower portions of the coils of the spring passing beneath the runway so as to be guided by the runway.

. CHARLES A. FOLLETT. 

